1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of the food service industry. In particular, the present invention provides an apparatus which would most likely be used in a commercial establishment for forming a uniquely configured food product from a bagel in a safe manner. Cutting of a bagel is a dangerous activity especially when performed on a regular basis. The present invention provides a means for virtually eliminating any chance of user injury because the bagel is not touched by a human hand during the cutting of the open-topped pocket therein. With the apparatus of the present invention many, many bagels can have these open-topped pockets formed therein per hour which is especially useful for commercial applications.
Many devices have been designed for cutting bagels. However, the present device provides a unique configuration for a bagel wherein an open-topped pocket is formed with a peripherally enclosing rim of original bagel material resulting from the portion of the bagel remaining after cutting of the open-topped pocket in the central portion of the upwardly facing surface of the bagel to a limited depth therein. The bagel can be cut in half prior to cutting of the open-topped configuration so that the pocket can be cut in the upper surface of a complete bagel or in the cut surface of a bagel that has been cut in half. This cutting is achieved by compressing the bagel downwardly between a pivotal plate and a pedestal and cutting the bagel in this partially compressed position thereby greatly facilitating accuracy in the cutting and virtually eliminating any possibility of injury to the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous prior art devices have been designed for the handling of bagels particularly for cutting and forming foodstuff therewith such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,603 patented Aug. 10, 1982 to R. Pavlow et al and assigned to Roger Pavlow on a "Machine For Encapsulating Food In Dough"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,404 patented Jun. 23, 1987 to L. D'Erasmo on a "Bagel Press"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,926 patented Oct. 27, 1987 to D. Fowler and assigned to Frito-Lay, Inc. on a "Process For Producing Two-Component Dough Products"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,419 patented Dec. 25, 1990 to R. Sonkin on an "Apparatus And Method For Treating Baked Goods"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,193 patented Jul. 23, 1991 to R. Valenti on a "Bagel Scooper"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,724 patented Aug. 17, 1993 to A. Burger on a "Filled Bagel Dough Product And Method"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,395 patented May 7, 1996 to A. Burger on a "Filled Burger Dough Product And Method"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,998 patented Sep. 24, 1996 to E. Schwartz et al on a "Bagel Coring Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,266 patented Mar. 18, 1997 to M. Kensrue and assigned to Bagel Trap, Inc. on a "Tool For Cutting Bread And Bagels"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,734 patented Jun. 17, 1997 to R. Fish on a "Bagel And Bun Slicer Apparatus And Method Of Use.